Superantural creator Eric Kripke is sticking by his word that his CW thriller will bow out next May after five seasons. Sort of.

“I did set out [to] tell a five-season storyline,” the exec maintains. “Quite frankly, I never expected [the show] to make it to five years. But now that we’re in our fifth year, I have every intention of ending the story with a bang and not drawing it out our watering it down.”

Relax, Supe Nazis. Here’s that catch I promised you…“That having been said,” Kripke continues, “I’m looking at this season as the last chapter in this particular story. That doesn’t mean there can’t be a new story. Buffy did it. The X-Files did it. You close a chapter on a big mythology storyline and then you begin a new one.

“One of the things I like about this show is we don’t draw out mysteries endlessly,” he adds. “We’ll answer a bunch of questions this season and then pose some new ones next season.”

Of course, that’s assuming there is a next season. The CW has yet to renew Supernatural for a sixth go-’round. And even if the show does come back, would Kripke still be involved? “I don’t know,” hedges Supe’s fearless leader, who doesn’t have a deal in place beyond season 5. “I’m going to cross that bridge when I get to it.”

What say you, Supe fans? Would you prefer to see Sam and Dean go out with a bang next May? Or are you cool with the show continuing on and running the risk of limping to the finish line like The X-Files and Buffy? And the even bigger question: Is there Supernatural life after Kripke? Sound off below! [Source]